Case study THE TOPS PROGRAMME The acronym ‘TOP’ stands for ‘The Olympic Programme’. TOP, created in 1985, was established to maximise The TOP VI Programme Twelve corporations participated in the sixth generation of the TOP programme, known as TOP VI. During the 2005‐2008 Olympic opportunities for generation of quadrennial cycle, TOP VI Partners provide sponsorship revenue for the IOC, support for the 2006 Olympic Winter Games whilst at the same time reducing the in Turin and the 2008 Olympic Games in substantial number corporate sponsors of that major had Beijing. TOP VI is projected to generate approximately US$866 million in financial and goods and services support for the Olympic previously been involved with the Movement. Games to approximately seventy participating organisations. Corporate sponsors are all multi‐national corporations that are global leaders TOP VI Partners The TOP VI Partners are: in their respective industry. • Worldwide Partners of the Olympic Games • Partners of the International Olympic The TOP Programme forms part of a highly Committee strategic Olympic marketing strategy; the • Partners of the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Olympic Games are the only major sporting Games event in the world where there is no • Partners of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games advertising in the stadium or on the athletes. • Partners of all National Olympic Committees This arguably avoids excessive statements of • Partners of all Olympic teams competing in commercialisation at Olympic events. Torino 2006 and Beijing 2008 Status as a TOP sponsor affords an organisation exclusive global marketing rights and opportunities (within their designated product category). Status as a TOP sponsor is prestigious and, as one might imagine, lucrative. Careful brand rights management has allowed the Olympic Movement to maximise sponsorship revenue generated by TOP partners.
HLST Learning Legacies: Case Study – February 2010
1
Case study THE TOPS PROGRAMME OLYMPIC GAMES: DOMESTIC SPONSORSHIP chocolate, toothpaste and soap. The ‘Olympia’ cigarette was a notable inclusion at the 1964 The Olympic Games domestic sponsorship Games! Despite raising $1m in revenue for the programme grants marketing rights within the OCOG it was, quite understandably, banned host country or territory only. The host for health‐related and ethical reasons at later country NOC and the host country Olympic Games. The 1984 Los Angeles Games heralded team participate in the OCOG sponsorship a revolution in the commercialisation model programme because the Marketing Plan attributed to the Games, largely a result of the Agreement requires the OCOG and the host terrible financial debts accrued by the country NOC to centralise and coordinate all Montreal government following their hosting marketing initiatives within the host country. of the 1976 Games. These Games saw the first formal steps towards limiting the number of OLYMPIC SPONSORSHIP HISTORY sponsors allowed to partner with the Olympic Games across a number of limited categories. Olympic sponsorship began with the This formed the basis for the inception of the conception of the Modern Olympic Games itself, in Athens, 1896. The Games became characterised by a vast number of companies Case Study: South America using the Olympic logo tin their advertising. Whilst such heavy corporate use continued for much of the early history of the Games, it is notable that signage within visual distance of the Games venues themselves were only allowed on display at the Paris 1924 Olympic Games. In 1928, Coca‐Cola signed on to become an Olympic partner and has never broken this agreement, becoming the most enduring symbol of Olympic sponsorship in the history of the Movement. It was not until 1942 when the Olympic Federation launched a formal international marketing programme. Numerous companies providing a vast array of differing products and services continued to sign on as sponsors, with products that included perfume, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently awarded broadcast rights for the Olympic Games in 2010 and 2012 to ESPN in South America. “The Olympic Games are at the pinnacle of all sporting events and I am pleased that ESPN can utilise and leveraqe its platforms to showcase an event of this magnitude to fans in South America.” (Russell Wolff, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, ESPN International.) ESPN will acquire free‐to‐air television and radio broadcast rights in Argentina for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games and the London 2012 Olympic Games, including minimum free‐to‐air exposure guarantees; pay television rights to air the Games on cable and satellite platforms in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay for the same period; and satellite‐only television rights in Venezuela for the same period. Broadcasting rights acquisition takes advantage of the growing popularity of the Olympic Games in the South American market. HLST Learning Legacies: Case Study – February 2010
2
Case study THE TOPS PROGRAMME preferred‐sponsor TOPS programme that was Summer Games achieving sponsorship debuted in the next Games in Calgary, 1988. It revenue targets two years ahead of the is notable that, prior to the establishment of Opening Ceremony! the TOP programme, fewer than 10 NOCs in the world had a source of marketing revenue! “The IOC takes all necessary steps to ensure the fullest news coverage by the different media and the widest possible audience in the world for the Olympic Games.” — Rule 51, Olympic Charter: September 2004 Clearly this revolutionised the Olympic model in terms of turnover, profit and commercial viability, and no doubt increased attractiveness of acquiring the status of host city to many nations. By 1994, the Lillehammer Games had seen BROADCASTING RIGHTS broadcast and marketing programmes generate more than US$500 million, breaking Cumulative viewing figures for the Olympic almost every major marketing record for an Games have risen from an estimated 10.4bn Olympic Winter Games in the history of the for the Seoul 1988 Games to 34.4bn in Athens organisation. By 1996, the Atlanta Games and xx in Beijing, with a projected global were able to be funded entirely via private figure of xx for the London 2012 Games. With sources. The Sydney 2000 Games witnessed such a wide viewing audience it is clear that the most financially successful domestic there is ample potential for the generation of sponsorship programme to date, generating high‐levels of marketing revenue. $492 million in revenue. A BRIEF HISTORY OF OLYMPIC BROADCASTING The Berlin Games were the first to be televised; probably a reflection of the Nazi propaganda machine and obviously unfortunate. It does, however, offer us a unique insight into the workings of this Fascist The sponsorship programme was then to become far more sophisticated in terms of brand protection; no doubt a familiar concept to any company or organisation that has ever sought to use the Olympic logo for any purpose! By this time, sponsorship revenue was extremely successful, with the Athens HLST Learning Legacies: Case Study – February 2010
dictatorship and offers us a unique case study into the overtly political use of the Games, possibly for reasons of legitimisation of such a brutal regime. The Games were first broadcast in colour, in Mexico in 1968. The historic Black Power Salute of Tommie Smith and John Carlos 3
Case study THE TOPS PROGRAMME proved to be the most memorable media image of the Games. Despite the recession, LOCOG is aiming to raise up to £700 million in private sponsorship Global Broadcast Revenue Figures revenue, despite the current financial crisis. The global broadcast revenue figure for the COMMERCIALISATION: 2004 Olympic Games represents a fivefold SAVIOUR? increase from the 1984 Los Angeles broadcast revenue two decades earlier. The global Clearly the Games are now highly profitable broadcast revenue figure for the 2006 and offer an excellent case study in the Olympic Winter Games represents an development of a profitable commercial eightfold increase from the 1984 Sarajevo business broadcast revenue less than two decades management, licensing, sponsorship, facility earlier. Olympic broadcast partnerships have management, and so forth. But the Games been the single greatest source of revenue for were not always viewed as such an attractive the Olympic Movement for more than three financial proposition. The fundamental basis decades. for the move of Olympism towards a fundamentally BROADCASTING REVENUE DISTRIBUTION (commercialisation) was based on the need to safeguard the future of the Games, after the 49% of broadcasting revenue is distributed to Montreal Games incurred an overall loss of the OCOG and 51% to the Olympic approximately Movement. subsequently hired marketing expert Peter Uberroth model, in SELL terms OUT of commercial C$1.61 billion. to oversee the OR brand model The IOC gfinancial management of the Los Angeles Games. London 2012 Chief Executive Paul Deighton hopes to raise £400m in ticket sales in addition to reaching the sponsorship target of £700m. “I don't think any of us expected to be out there raising private money to put on the Games in the worst economic environment we've seen in century. Uberroth was extremely successful, transforming the financial fortunes of the Movement; cornerstones of his approach included the sale of television and radio broadcasting rights for over $700m, further increased revenue through ticket sales and merchandising. SPONSORSHIP OF LONDON 2012 Some people resent the commercialisation of LOCOG’s total sponsorship revenue to date is the Olympic Games, as they believe that it approximately £550m, with VISA a key partner clashes with the fundamental Olympic of Team 2012. principles of the spirit of amateurism, places too much emphasis on the generation of HLST Learning Legacies: Case Study – February 2010
4
Case study THE TOPS PROGRAMME revenue, and leads to an inevitable move toward professionalism. The RFK Stadium, Los Angeles FIND OUT MORE: Olympic website: www.olympic.org London 2012 Games website: www.london2012.org Olympic Marketing Fact File 2008 Edition. IOC. HLST Learning Legacies: Case Study – February 2010
5